Unresponsive Police
Anyone out there who thinks the police drop the ball got any case numbers? My wife and I have reported crimes. We got case numbers. So, if someone has "reported and reported", they should have case numbers. It is how it is done.
NNO
We were kinda late on everything with NNO. We did beat the deadline, and the online registration helped (hear that RT, Gary, the online reg. was a very GOOD idea!). However, being latecomers, we had a little bit of trouble with the paraphernalia. Fire Station 21, the neighborhood fire station, had run out (I told them that was a good sign for NNO if not for planning. Running out is GOOD if it means people in Longfellow decided NOW was a good time to meet the neighbors). So, I had to go down to Franklin Ave and they had plenty. And someone had prepared them very well for this function. They gave me the paraphernalia and instructions in less than five minutes time. And we did well with the info packet, though the idea of parking two cars and stretching the tape between seemed impractical. I didnt see any block group doing it that way. So we got up and running in a reasonable time frame. We didnt have a huge group, and I think in part that is because we stalled in telling them it would happen on our block, so they gave up the date for something else. Next year maybe we'll hold a planning party in May and give the "go" sign early so people plan for it. HOWEVER, we got new people which I like. One new homeowner met about half his neighbors in one session. We let everyone know about the secruity light grant program, money to have a contractor put a security light on your front porch. And we told STORIES! It would have been hard to plan that, but we just did it. One was about the next block group that busted a drug house before it could get entrenched. The second was about a youth tough from down by Lake who was egging a neighbor's house. A neighbor's brother-in-law told him to can it or expect dire consequences. And the neighbor lady who was getting egged STOPPED getting egged. And, she said "I haven't heard fireworks at night since then, either".
I'm sure there are developments to come, but I like what happened at our NNO party. It FEELS like the sort of thing which should happen.
Scanners
Heck, I thought they would have gone for some kind of encrypted communications. If we really don't WANT criminals tipped off, it stands to reason, we don't want to make it easy to tap police communications. It is a nice hobby, but crime-busting (I thought we had agreed) is the role of the police and nice hobbies take second place. We HAVE a communications network. I think we call it 911, right? I spend money so the police can curtail crime, not so I can monitor them when I'm off work. Heck, if Al Qaeda can communicate securely, I think my local police force should, too.
________________________________________ Jim Mork Cooper Neighborhood Longfellow Community Minneapolis, MN We think. You'll like it here. And we're more fun than a barrel of Norwegians
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